Society's Child

A march in London turned violent when protesters brawled with police near the UK Prime Minister's offices. It was held in solidarity with the US protests sparked by the death of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of police.

The massive rally was held in the British capital on Wednesday, with thousands of protesters marching through London to condemn racism and police brutality.

As well as expressing their support for US protesters, many of those demonstrating vented their anger about domestic issues. In addition to calling out issues with UK law enforcement, many chanted derogatory slogans about Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Donald Trump.

At least six people were injured after a car drove onto the terrace of an outdoor cafe in the Netherlands, one has been rushed to the hospital. The driver of the vehicle, which was badly damaged, is now in custody.

The incident took place around 10 pm local time, as diners were busy enjoying their meals on a terrace of a sidewalk cafe in Gennep, a city in southeastern Netherlands. It's unclear if the driver lost control of the vehicle or if the crash that left six people injured, including one that had to be hospitalized, was deliberate.

The driver apparently tried to flee the scene, with police deploying a helicopter to hunt the vehicle down, local media reported.

I thank God that the brutal and senseless killing of George Floyd — an unarmed black man — by the white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was captured on video for all the world to see. That shocking episode provides irrefutable evidence — yet again — of the callous, corrupt, and inhumane practices that are being used by some of those to whom we have granted the fearsome authority and weighty responsibility of policing the streets of our cities. Chauvin's behavior (and that of his fellow officers, who are depicted in the video standing idly by for what seems like an eternity, while Chauvin casually kneels on Floyd's neck choking the life out of him) is contemptible, enraging, and entirely unacceptable. This would be true, of course, regardless of the victim's or the policeman's race. Yet, given our country's history, when the murderous cop is white and the dead civilian is black, it is truer still. So, it is essential that those who committed this apparent crime be held accountable in a duly constituted court and, should they be found guilty, punished to the fullest extent of the law.

We have been here too many times before in recent years, and many of us have had quite enough. Crowds of angry Americans from every racial group and all walks of life have spilled into the streets, vociferously protesting this instance of racial injustice and police brutality. The protests are not merely the legitimate exercise of constitutional rights to assemble and to petition our government — they are essential for sustaining the moral health of our democracy. Protestors — the vast majority of whom have gathered peacefully to make their voices heard — render a vital public service with their insistent demands for change. Their anger is fully justified. Their impatience is entirely understandable. They must not be ignored.

Following days of violent riots and looting in cities across the country, Washington, D.C., announced a 7 p.m. curfew on Monday night. About the same time, President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Rose Garden. Afterward, he walked through Lafayette Park to St. John's Episcopal Church, which rioters had set on fire the night before. Standing before the church sign, which reads "All are welcome," President Trump, who previously said he'd be paying his respects to a very special place, held up a Bible.

The speech announcing the country would return to rule of law and protection of civil liberties, the walk through a park that the night before had been given over to rioters, and the visit to the vandalized historic church where every president has worshiped since James Madison, were reassuring to many in the country.

For the media, however, these actions were further proof that Orange Man Bad is literally the worst, restoring rule of law is criminal, and standing in front of a church holding a Bible is an assault on the American conscience. They focused on how the Park Police had cleared the area ahead of the city-wide curfew declared by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Facts were no barrier to their narrative. They spun a tale of violent, jack-booted cops running rampant through the streets over innocent docile protesters, using tear gas to clear the area. It turns out none of that was true.

For anyone willing to look, there are so many facts that tell the true story, and it goes something like this:

Knowing what we know today about COVID-19's Infection Fatality Rate, asymmetric impact by age and medical condition, non-transmissibility by asymptomatic people and in outdoor settings, near-zero fatality rate for children, and the basic understanding of viruses through Farr's law, locking down society was a bone-headed policy decision so devastating to society that historians may judge it as the all-time worst decision ever made. Worse, as these clear facts have become available, many policy-makers haven't shifted their positions, despite the fact that every hour under any stage of lockdown has a domino-effect of devastation to society. Meanwhile, the media — with a few notable exceptions — is oddly silent on all the good news. Luckily, an unexpected group of heroes across the political landscape — many of them doctors and scientists — have emerged to tell the truth, despite facing extreme criticism and censorship from an angry mob desperate to continue fighting an imaginary war.

My goal is to engage in known facts. You, the reader, can decide if all of these facts, when you put them together, equate to the story above.

Fact #1: The Infection Fatality Rate for COVID-19 is somewhere between 0.07-0.20%, in line with seasonal flu

The Infection fatality Rate math of ANY new virus ALWAYS declines over time as more data becomes available, as any virologist could tell you. In the early days of COVID-19 where we only had data from China, there was a fear that the IFR could be as high as 3.4%, which would indeed be cataclysmic. On April 17th, the first study was published from Stanford researchers that should have ended all lockdowns immediately, as the scientists reported that their research "implies that the infection is much more widespread than indicated by the number of confirmed cases" and pegged the IFR between 0.12-0.2%. The researchers also speculated that the final IFR, as more data emerged, would likely "be lower." For context, seasonal flu has an IFR of 0.1%. Smallpox? 30%.

Britain's GCHQ spy agency is running secretive "educational" programs in dozens of schools and disseminating propaganda to children as young as four years old, without the knowledge of parents, it's been revealed.

The intelligence agency is running the programs in at least 40 schools with access to 22,000 children who are potentially being spied on, according to an investigation by Declassified UK.

According to the investigative website, GCHQ officers themselves are operating in at least one of the schools and parents of the pupils involved have not been made aware of the extent of the spy agency's role in the so-called Cyber Schools Hub (CSH) programs also known as 'CyberFirst'.

GCHQ publicly describes the programs as giving children between the ages of 11 and 17 the chance to experience "new ways of learning" in an "innovative cyber environment" and aims to use the school activities to help recruit kids for the cyber security industry.

Did you paint "progressive" over the door posts in the hopes the mob angel of death would pass you by?'

George Floyd rioters didn't spare Raleigh, North Carolina, over the weekend — nor did they let alone the downtown office of newspaper Indyweek.

In fact, "devastated" editor Leigh Tauss showed on Twitter the carnage that befell the paper — and she implied that rioters shouldn't have destroyed the office since Indyweek is "progressive."

(Content warning: Rough language in at least one of the photos):

Comment: Here comes the wake up call indeed. At least for some. Many others will remain asleep to the reactive, irresponsible and destructive machine-like thinking, being and nature that has come to define a large percentage of progressives, ultra-liberals and radical leftists in the US and elsewhere.

Amid rumors of mass protests and riots in the northwest Idaho city of Coeur d'Alene, some locals weren't having it, and armed themselves to patrol city streets lined with small businesses.

It's a trend giving rise to fears that violent armed clashes between different American factions are imminent. Already videos from cities across the nation have depicted counter-demonstrators taking matters into their own hands as police retreat.

"Reports and rumors that groups bent on rioting and violence in Coeur d'Alene brought out men and women with guns on Monday determined to stop them if they arrive,"local Idaho media reported.

Comment: As one Tweeter, quoted in the above article, stated, "Those of you who incite violence, to destroy our communities will be met with a force in the likes of which you have never seen!" - which may well also apply to militarized police and the military if and when they get out of hand - which now almost seems like an inevitability.

A sleeping giant of armed Americans has remained mostly quiet until recently - but seems to be watching, and waiting.

A retired St. Louis police captain and municipal chief was shot to death by looters at a St. Louis pawn shop early Tuesday, and his killing apparently was broadcast on Facebook Live.

David Dorn, 77, was shot in the torso about 2:30 a.m. He died on the sidewalk in front of the shop, Lee's Pawn & Jewelry, at 4123 Martin Luther King Drive.

Police have made no arrests and said they have no suspects. A reward for information leading to an arrest had climbed to $40,000 by Wednesday afternoon.

The killing north of downtown happened on a night of violence and destruction in St. Louis, as rioting followed protests over the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Dorn was at the pawn shop to protect it from looting.

The Ethical Society of Police, which represents black officers in St. Louis, mourned Dorn as "the type of brother that would've given his life to save them if he had to."

Comment: Dorn was protecting his friends from the vile opportunists who have taken protests across the nation that were based on legitimate grievances and used them as a cover to rob their neighbors. Not only have those rioters destroyed their own communities they've also made it that much harder for those who still wish to address the original grievances to do so. Which is doubly despicable. Yet still these completely selfish individuals continue wreaking havoc and making life even more miserable for the average person:

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio has extended the city's curfew order amid ongoing protests and unrest over police brutality, imposing another day of travel restrictions after authorities again failed to stop looting and vandalism.

Announcing the move in a tweet on Monday night, De Blasio said Tuesday will see another curfew, this time beginning at 8pm instead of 11pm, noting that "keeping people safe" is his "first priority."

"These protests have power and meaning. But as the night wears on we are seeing groups use them to incite violence and destroy property," the mayor said.

New York City has imposed an 8pm to 5am curfew through June 7 for citizens amid ongoing protests over the killing of George Floyd and only a day after having designated different time limits.

"I am extending the curfew, which I announced would be beginning again at 8pm tonight until 5am Wednesday morning. We are going to continue that curfew for the remainder of this week," New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said at a Tuesday press conference.

Governor Andrew Cuomo previously imposed a curfew on the city that would begin at 11pm and last until 5am.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo slammed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's refusal to deploy the National Guard against looters who've run wild for two nights, briefly mulling "displacing" the mayor and taking over himself.

"The NY [Police Department] and the mayor did not do their job last night. I believe that," Cuomo raged during a press conference on Tuesday, calling the late-night looting that took place in the Bronx despite an 11pm to 5am curfew "inexcusable."

"I am disappointed and outraged at what happened in New York City last night. Those looters, that criminal activity hurt everyone," he snarled. Cuomo excoriated his city nemesis for refusing to send in the National Guard, noting that he would have to "displace the mayor" and "basically take over the mayor's job" in order to send in the Guard himself.

However, he backed away from that possibility quickly, demurring that "I don't think we are at that point." Sending in troops on top of the NYPD would just create "chaos and mayhem," he said.

At least two NYPD officers and a number of civilians were injured in a barrage of gunshots in Brooklyn, where protests over police violence rage on. The suspect was reportedly shot and killed in the incident.

The two officers and up to three others were taken to hospital on Tuesday night after the shooting - in which between 10 and 20 shots rang out - though the extent of their injuries is unknown, according to local media. The shooter's connection to the protests, if any, also remains unclear.